Zena Sterling Reveals WWE Initially Rejected Her for Being Too Young

During her interview with Bully Ray on Busted Open Radio on May 20, 2025, the rising star revealed that WWE turned her down multiple times early on simply because of her age. But instead of giving up, she pushed harder.

When I was in high school, I followedthis is actually, Ive never said this before, everso listen to this. I followed a fitness influencer. Her name is now Sol Ruka, Zena shared. And I followed her on social media, and I looked up to her. And just seeing her do like crazy things in the gym was like, Wow, she is like someone that I really admire.

It was through Sol Rukas journey that Zena first discovered WWE.

I saw that she got signed by the WWE, and that was when I first found out about the WWE world. And I started watching it. I was like, Wow, this is so cool. I want to do this. So I did everything I could from then on to find a way in the door.

While attending Ohio State as a freshman swimmer, Zena felt something was off. After two months, I was like, This doesnt feel right. Something is telling me I dont belong here right now. And that was when I reached out to the WWE, and they kept turning me down because I was too young.

WWE offered her a spot in their NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) programbut it came with a catch. They said I could do the NIL, but I didnt want to do that because that meant finishing the full course of college. I was like, Why waste time if I know this isnt what Im meant to do?

Determined to prove she belonged, Zena kept going. Eventually, she landed a tryout. I went to a tryout. I was the youngest one there. And yeah, now we get her here.

Now a standout on LFG and a major name to watch in WWEs developmental system, Zena Sterlings story is proof that persistence beats pedigreeand age means nothing when the hunger is real.